Eye See You
by Little Miss Jigsaw
Summary: Beaten. Shot. Eyes glued open. All eyes green. That was their serial killer's choice for victims. When the first murders occur in Miami, the team does their best, however, the killer disappears, and the murders start occuring in Vegas. please R
1. Murders

Here is a breif warning to those who did not read my previous Story "Puzzle Master" or those who didn't read the ending of it: This is a sequel of sorts. It will not be following the same storyline, since that ended in the last one, but it wil be featuring the same characters. So, lemme clue ya in:  
Elizabeth is Greg's girlfriend.  
As of the end of my previous Story, Susan is Nick's wife.  
Summer is Sara and Grissom's daughter.  
Summer, Susan, Lindsay, Beth, and Ellie were all kidnapped in Puzzle Master, and all but Ellie were rescued. In otherwords, she's dead.

For those who read Puzzle Master: This takes place almost two years after the kidnapping, in Febuary (kidnapping was in July).

Please read, and please review!

_**CSI: Eye See You**_

Chapter One: Murders

Horatio Caine sat at his desk pondering just what the hell was going on. Four murders in as many days, all done in the same fashion. They had a serial killer on their hands, that much was for sure. He leaned back in his chair, and thought of what might be the pattern for the guy. He hadn't really had time to think on it, with a murder occuring every day.

_Victim one: Jacklynne Myles. Female. Fourteen years old. Gun shot wound to the chest. Eyes glued open._

Victim two: Edward "Eddie" Clark. Fourteen years old. Gun shot Wound to the chest. Eyes glued open.

Victim three: Marie Dibbins. Fourteen years old. Gun shot wound to the chest. Eyes glued open.

Victim four: Mike Dibbins. Fourteen years old. Marie's Twin. Gun shot wound to the chest. Eyes glued open.

So, their guy went for fourteen year olds, boy or girl. There had been evidence of sexual assault on the girls, and just plain beatings on the boys. There had been an odd substance in and around their eyes, that somehow _still _hadn't been run. But then, the lab was kind of backed up nowadays, with so many cases... Their eyes! That was it! Every one of the teens had green eyes. Maybe that was a coincidence, but Horatio doubted it. So... their killer went after teenagers, with green eyes. Assaulted the girls, beat the boys, rubbed whatever it was in their eyes, shot them, then glued the eyes open... But why? Why the eyes?

That was something whoever had done this would tell him himself.

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One week later: Las Vegas

Three cases in one night? This was turning out to be a busy week already. That was what Greg Sanders was thinking as he and Nick Stokes approached the body of a teenage boy. Grissom had interupted the team on break to tell them that they had three calls come in at once. So, out they had gone to check out the scenes. Greg didn't know about everyone else, but they had certainly found a body. The parents of the boy were watching everything that was going on, with blank faces. Greg knew that face. That was the face that meant they had done all the crying they were going to for the night, that meant they were beyond the point of tears alerady. They were angry. Greg wouldn't have wanted to be the guy who'd killed the kid in a million years after seeing that look.

Toby Evans, fourteen, deceased.

"Um, Greg..." said Nick, "Please tell me that his eyes aren't glued open..."

Taking a closer look, Greg replied, "That's what it looks like, Nicky boy. That's what it looks like."

With a sigh, both men started to process the scene. It was going to be a long night. 

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"Well...this is strange..." said Sara Sidle, as she and Gil Grissom inspected the body of a young girl. Her eyes were glued open, to all appearences.She looked like she'd been dead for at least a day. "When's the last time you saw something like that done?"

"It's been awhile," said Grissom, kneeling at the body.

"Who found her?"

"Her sister. Parents are both in prison."

So to work they went, collecting what evidence they found before the coroner came to take the body. After that, they continued. At least this was in a rural area, where there wouldn't be many spectators. That was certainly a plus. Sara knelt beside a foot-print in the sand. Size 10 looked like. Boot. Unusual pattern. She snapped a photo of it, and looked for more. There was another shoe print. This one looked like a kid's sneaker.. possibly the vic's. She looked towards Grissom, and saw him turning a small brown glass bottle in his hand. There was print dust on it, and a print, from what she could see. Perhaps it would lead them to their killer. Perhaps not.

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"What have we here?" said Warrick Brown, as he and his wife, Catherine Brown, went over a crime scene. Two teenagers were dead here. A boy and a girl. No more than fourteen. Both shot, both had their eyes glued open. They'd been dead about two days.

"What ya got there, Rick?" Catherine asked, getting to her feet, as she had been knelt next to the spot where the bodies had been. Warrick was looking a few small drops of blood on the ground, that wasn't in the right place to be the victims'...

"Maybe our perp left a little bit of himself behind," said Warrick, "I'll have Hodges run this when we get back to the lab."

"In the meantime, let's finish the scene, the faster we do, the faster we solve this thing..." said Catherine, going back to where she'd been examining the ground for evidence.

-------------------------------------

"Well, all of your victims were killed the same way," said Doc Robbins, to his audience of six people. "What happened before their death however, slightly differs. On the girls, I found evidence of sexual abuse, and on the boys, it looks like someone just beat them for the fun of it. As you can see all of their eyes have been glued open, and oddly enough, all of them have green eyes."

"And how old are they?" Nick asked.

"Fourteen, all of them," Doc Robbins anwered. "Toby Evans, Greg and Nick's body, was the most recent one. His TOD was about nine this evening. Mylie Tyson and Greg Meeks, Cath and Warrick's bodies were killed on friday night, most likely. As for Valerie Sandon, Grissom and Sara's vic, she was killed around midnight last night."

"So, all fourteen, all have green eyes, all glued open... We have a serial killer on our hands." said Catherine, "Though it's strange that someone should pick those a standard for victims... Age, sure, but eye color?"

"There have been stanger things, Catherine," said Grissom, "Believe me..."

"Yes," said the Doc, "whatever was put in their eyes for example. It's like an oil or something, probably used to blind them. I sent a sample to trace."

"Griss..." said Sara, "You remember that bottle you found? What was in it?"

"It wasn't labelled, but it smelled like Eucalyptus and Peppermint."

"If that's what was used on these kids," said Greg, "Ouch... You know how much that stuff can burn?"

"all to well," said Nick, "You ever get a bottle full of it splashed in your face, and you'll realize how bad it really hurts, Greg."

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Miami Crime Lab

Calleigh Duquesne sat with her boss, as they discussed posssibilities for the whereabouts of their killer. It had been a week since the last murder, and there were absolutely no leads what so ever to point out who the guy might be. Any fingerprints they had came up unknown, any DNA also came up unknown. It was highly frustrating. Calleigh was about to say something, when Eric Delko interupted.

"I think we just got a lead on our case."

"How's that, Eric?" Calleigh asked, confused.

"Four bodies turned up in Las Vegas last night, murdered same way our vics were."

"Could be a copy cat," Calleigh reminded him. "Why would our perp go all the way to Nevada?"

"Maybe that's what he does," said Horatio, "Maybe he's going to move from city to city."

"It's possible," said Eric, "But then, as Calleigh says, it could be a copy cat."

"Either way, I'm going to get in touch with Catherine Willows, and see if she can give me any information..." said Horatio, leaving the other two alone.

"Does he mean that CSI from Vegas that came here a few years back?" Calleigh asked.

"Think so," Eric replied.

------------------------------------

"Hey Nicky," said Catherine, with a smile and a wave as she walked by him, "How's Susan and the twins?"

"You mean the little nightmares, otherwise known as Jaina and Ryne?" said Nick, "They're fine. Probably terrorizing their mother at the moment."

"Oh, they can't be that bad," Catherine laughed.

"They aren't, most of the time. It's when they don't sleep, and the babysitter lets them have too much sugar."

"Been there," said Cath, "Not with two though." Her phone began ringing, "Well, good luck with the kids, Nicky." She walked away, and answered the phone. 

"Brown," she said, having finally gotten to where she could stop using "Willows."

"Oh," said the deep voice from the other side, "I'm sorry, I was trying to reach CSI Catherine Willows."

Catherine recognized the voice, "I go by Brown, now, but this is Catherine."

"I see. This is Horatio Caine, from-"

"Miami PD, right?" Catherine finished for him, remembering now. She'd worked with him before, on a case, when the suspect had fled to Miami.

"Right. I'll get straight to the point, Mrs. Brown... I think the recent murders in Vegas are connected to four that have occurred here."

"How so?" Catherine asked, leaning against a wall. He had her attention at least.

"Four people have been found, girls sexually assaulted, boys beaten. Shot. Eyes glued open. All fourteen, with green eyes. Sound familiar?"

"We have four victims here as well..." said Catherine, confused, "That were killed in the same way... Could it be a copy cat?"

"We've thought of that," Horatio informed her, "And it is possible, but unlikely, as we never released the cause of death to any reporters."

"Well, that puts a damper on that theory... What do you suggest, Mr. Caine?"

"Would your lab accept two guests, while the case is being solved?"

"Possibly," Catherine answered. "Who would you suggest?"

"Myself and Calleigh... You met her when you were here."

"Yeah, I remember. The female equvilant of Greg..."

There was a brief silence on the other end, as if Horatio was trying to decide wether or not to ask what she meant. He settled for saying, "I look forward to working with you again, Mrs. Brown."

-----------------------------------------


	2. Working With visitors

Oh yeah... something I forgot to mention... Cath and Warrick have been married four years now

Chapter Two: Working with visitors

Grissom shook his head. He was the supervisor, and he'd been last to know that two CSIs from Miami were coming to help with the case... which appearently had been Miami's case in the first place. Talk about confusing. He leaned back in his desk chair. Their visitors would be arriving that day, and in the meantime, finger prints, and DNA were being run in the lab. As well as the liquid in the brown bottle, and the oils from the kids' eyes, so they could be sure of what it was. Grissom already knew the answer was yes, it was eucalyptus and peppermint, but he wanted lab results to prove it first. 

Warrick was working on finding out where all of the children had been the nights they died, and was so far having no luck trying to talk to the hysterical parents. Catherine, Sara, and Greg were out talking to anyone who might've seen what went on. Nick was looking into the back ground of Valerie Sandon's sister.

And Grissom? He had paperwork to do. Bleh. Maybe he could get Catherine to do it for him... No, she was tired of doing his paperwork for him. She had said as much last time he'd asked. Sara straight up refused to do it, and he didn't quite trust any of the others. Maybe Summer would come in and keep him company while he did the work. No, that wasn't a choice either... Just because school had let out early that day, didn't mean she didn't have work to do... She had stressed to him the importance of her science report when she'd arrived. Then again, knowing his daughter, that was an excuse to get out of watching the paper work be done. Nope, Grissom was stuck doing it on his own, with no source of entertainment as he did so.

---------------------------------------

The Las Vegas crime lab was alot different from the Miami one, Calleigh noticed. She had been shown the way to the break room, where she was waiting for Horatio to get done speaking with the Night Shift supervisor. Strange that the Night Shift was still working really... It was just then two pm. Maybe pulling a double? Not unheard of, especially in her lab. A bored sigh drew her attention to the fact that she wasn't alone. 

She turned. Sitting at the table was a young girl. No more than ten, writing in a notebook, pausing every now and then to look at the jars in front of her, which seemed to contain a Black Widow spider, a common brown scorpion, and a Lady Bug.

"Awful young to be a CSI aren't you?" Calleigh asked with a smile. Jokingly she added, "Lab Tech maybe?"

"No. School let out early today," The girl replied, glancing up at Calleigh. She had bright blue eyes, and square-framed glasses, which were also blue.

"So, why aren't you at home?"

"Mom and dad pulled a double shift, and I don't like being at home alone." She glanced at her collection of bugs, and wrote a bit more. "Besides, the bugs I needed for my science report aren't exactly easy to catch. So, why bother, when your dad has an office full of them?"

"I'm going to take a guess, and say you're the supervisor's daughter?" Calleigh asked, remembering seeing the shelves full of bugs and other such things in the supervisor's office.

"Yeah. How'd you guess?"

"Well, his is the only office full of bugs," Calleigh pointed out, "I take it your mom is a CSI too?"

"Yup. You'll prob'ly meet her later... Sara Sidle... I'm Summer, by the way." the girl looked towards the door, "Oh, hey Uncle Nicky."

"Hi Kid, you seen your dad?" Nick asked, with a vague wave at Calleigh, "I found somethin' on Valerie Sandon's sister that he oughtta know."

"I've been avoiding him, actually," Summer replied, "He was asking if I wanted to help out with his paperwork... Aunt Catherine wouldn't do it for him. He should be in his office... Do you know where Mama is?"

"She's with Catherine and Greg..." said Nick, "I guess I'll go track down Grissom."

--------------------------------

_Just perfect. _Sara thought, as she pulled her radio off her belt. _Another body to add to the collection. _ "This is CSI Sidle," she said into the radio, "We've got a 419 outside the Rio."

_Another one, Sara? _said Brass' voice, sounding slighty staticy, _That's what? Five, in two days?_

"Yeah," Sara replied, taking a closer look at the body. This one was a boy. "Looks like the same guy, too. Gun shot wound, bruises, eyes glued open... If I hadn't thought we were dealing with a serial killer before, I would now. "

_I'll have officers there, and the coroner in ten minutes. Think you can keep the crowd at bay that long?_

"We'll try," Greg and Catherine said before Sara could. "What they said," was all Sara added.

-----------------------------------

"Is this your wife and daughter?" Horatio asked the night shift supervisor, looking at the one photo the man had on his desk.

"No," Grissom replied, looking some what reluctant to answer, "Summer's my daughter, but Sara and I never married."

With an almost visible look of pain, Horatio remembered his wife, Marisol. whom had been murdered mere hours after their wedding. The one who had been responsible was still at large... He'd caught the man who shot her, but not the one who ordered it. That memory wasn't one of his favorites, to say the least.

"Catherine tells me that you brought another of your CSIs with you?" said Grissom, after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

Horation nodded, "Calleigh Duquesne. If you'd like to meet her I-" he was interupted when the door to the office opened, and in bounded the girl from the photo.

"Do you knock?" Grissom asked her. There was a hint of amusement in his tone.

"No, I don't," the girl responded plainly, "Uncle Nicky's looking for you, he said something about Valerie Sandon's sister or something... Anyway, that's not why I came in here."

"Mr. Caine, this rude child is Summer. Summer, this is Horatio Caine, Miami CSI," said Grissom.

"Hello." said both of the others. Summer was the one who continued to speak, "Daddy, can I borrow the tarantula? Please?"

"No. Last time, you tried to take it home, and keep it as a pet. Sara was after me for weeks about that."

"I need it for my science report, along with the others, though!"

Grissom was saved from answering, when his phone rang. Horatio couldn't help a small, amused, smile, as the girl tried to silently plead with her father. He was ignoring her for the most part, as he was too involved with whoever he was talking to on the phone. Finally Summer gave up, and left, muttering something about 'the poor spider never gets out.' Appearently Grissom heard her, for even as he spoke he shook his head with a look that clearly said "kids."

Once he hung up the phone, Grissom was silent a moment. He looked out the office door, as if to see wether or not Summer had really left. "Where is your partner, Mr. Caine? We have a body on its way here for autopsy. Looks the same as the others."

-------------------------------

Sara, Catherine and Greg were quick to start working the scene. As Greg was the one with the best people skills, he spoke with everyone who had been in the vicinity of the body. Sara and Catherine were just getting ready to collect a drop of the same substance they'd found on the other four victims, when a high-strung-looking blonde woman ran onto the scene, 

"Sorry I took so long... First time in Vegas..."

Sara gave her a confused look, where as Catherine straightened, and shook the woman's hand. "Nice to see you again, Calleigh."

"And you, Catherine," said the woman.

"Sara, this is Calleigh Duquesne. Calleigh, this is Sara Sidle. Now, before we continue with this little chat, let's finish the scene, shall we?"

As she scraped up the dob of the substance, Sara caught a wiff of Pepper Mint and Eucalyptus. Same as the other two. She stood up, closing the top over the cotton swab, and put it in an evidence bag. She was about to say an actual hello to Calleigh when she heard worried voices starting speaking rather loudly.

"What's going on here?!"

"Micheal! Micheal, honey where are you!"

Sara turned to see a young couple, shoving their way through the crowd. She approached the two, intent on asking them what was going on, but they beat her to it. "Excuse me, Miss," said the man, "What's going on here?"

Sara was going to tell them, but after she found out who they were, "I'm Sara Sidle from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. There's been a homicide. Would you mind telling me what you're doing shoving people around?"

"Crime Lab?" said the woman, "Homicide? You mean murder?"

"We're looking for our son, Micheal," said the man, "He was with a friend, but the girl called a few minutes ago to say Micheal had disappeared."

Catherine had joined them, "Would your son happen to be about fourteen years old, blonde hair, and green eyes?" Catherine looked as she was hoping they answered no. 

"Yeah," said the woman, "That's Micheal." Her husband pulled his wallet out of his pocket, and showed them a picture of the boy they had so recently found dead.

"Excuse me, but what are your names?" Sara asked, heart dropping to her feet.

"George Casey. This is My wife, Lucinda."

"Mr Casey," said Catherine, "We're going to have to ask you and your wife to come with us... The boy we found matches Micheal's description."

---------------------------------

Things were not going well at all. There were two sobbing parents in the office, and the distraught sister of Valerie Sandon. Whom had been rather elusive until that afternoon. Warrick wondered if it wasn't some cruel joke from fate that they had all three at once. He and Catherine were watching the husband and wife as Sara and Calleigh interviewed them. They had been close to being those two... Close to sitting in that room, while one of their colleagues interviewed them about the loss of their daughter. But luckily, they had been spared that. Everyone on the team had been spared losing someone, save for one. Brass stood a ways away from them. He knew perfectly well how those people felt. He'd lost Ellie, nearly two years before. 

Someone slammed into Brass, from behind, knocking him forward, "Oh, sorry, Uncle Jim!" Summer. She moved around him, bent down, and grabbed the rather large spider that had just started to crawl onto Brass' shoe.

"I thought you were told to leave Grissom's bugs alone," Catherine said, not bothering to look and see what was going on.

"Science project," was all the girl said before darting off down the hall again, spider in hand.

Brass shook his head, "I wonder if Grissom even knows how much like him she is."

'Believe me," said Warrick, "He does." He looked over at the door to see Sara coming out, "Hey Sara... What'd you get from them?"

"Not much, other than that Micheal was with a friend, and he disappeared," Sara replied, "We got a name for the girl though. Emily Brooks."

Meanwhile, still with the parents, Calleigh noticed something, "Excuse me, but what's in those necklaces?" She gestured to the black cords around their necks, on which hung small brown bottles. "We found a bottle on one of the crime scenes that looks alot like those."

"It's eucalyptus and peppermint oils," said Mrs. Casey, "It works great for soothing muscle pains, or clearing sinuses... Why?"

Calleigh glanced at the casefile, that sat next to her arm. In it, she knew were the lab results from the oils that had been found on the vics, and the oil from the bottle. She'd taken a look. It had been eucalyptus and peppermint oil. "Well, we found the same oils in and around the eyes of the victims... "

"I am sure that you'll find we're not the only ones who use it," said Mr. Casey.

"I'm sure we will," said Calleigh.

-------------------------------------

"Hey, Grissom!" said Nick, catching up with his boss, as he headed out the door, Sara and Summer with him.

"Yeah Nick?" Grissom responded, turning.

"I found something on Valerie Sandon's sister... Turns out she spent several years in prison for attacking a kid when she was fifteen. She got out right before her parents got locked up for assault with a deadly weapon..."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow," said Sara, "Right now, I think any of us would be tired enough to pass out at any moment," she looked pointedly at Summer, who was stifling a yawn.

"I'd go talk to her tonight, but at this ungodly hour, she'd kill me, not to mention, I've got a wife who knows how to hide evidence of a crime at home..." said Nick

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Plllllleeeeeassssse lemme know what you think


	3. Home Life Work Life

Chapter Three: Home Life Work Life

After pulling two doubles in a row, Nick figured it was best that he be home, before Susan figured out how to commit the perfect murder. When he got home, he instantly heard the screams of the twins, though thankfully, they were screams of laughter, not just plain screams. Susan came into the living room, child on each hip. Both were getting a kick out of something they were holding, which was the reason for their laughter.

"Well, hiya Stranger," she said, "Was beginnin' t' wonder of ya'd taken up permanent residence in that lab of your's."

"Nah," Nick replied, approaching her, and giving her a kiss, "It's just been a difficult couple of cases is all. Still gotta solve it, but we'll get there eventually." When he tried to step away from his wife, he found that Jaina had grabbed hold of his shirt, and wasn't letting go.

"Uh-oh," said Susan, "she's kicked in t' 'Daddy's girl' mode. Ya best take 'er. Otherwise we'll never hear th' end of i'."

With an overly-dramatic fake sigh, Nick took the girl, at which point, Ryne also decided that he wanted his father to take him. Laughing, Susan handed her young son to her husband. Another sigh from Nick, this one of resignation. "What're ya'll rugrats doin' up this late anyway?"

"They wouldn' go t' sleep," said Susan, "They never do when you're away from home for too long... I, however, sleep jus' fine." She added a smirk, just to antagonate him.

"Well, at least I know who really loves me," Nick retorted. Susan stuck her tongue out at him. "Stick it out again, and it's mine," Nick growled playfully. "I'll hold ya t' that threat, Nicolas Brandon Stokes," she replied, and did it again. Nick caught her in a kiss before she was able to pull her tongue back in her mouth. Careful of the children, she kissed him back.

At least Nick would be able to forget the case for one night. 

---------------------------

Elizabeth Robin Markay hid behind the door of her apartment. She'd heard Greg saying hello to one of the neighbors. He never missed a chance to play a prank on her, so tonight was her night to get back at him. Partially for all the pranks, partially for not being home the past couple of days. The door opened, concealing her. On came the over head light. There was the clank of his keys as he tossed them on the table. The door shut, and Beth pounced, leaping on to his back, with a yell of "Gotcha!"

Greg would have jumped a mile into the air, if he didn't have a hundred and fourteen pounds of long legs and arms latched on to him from behind. So instead, he peeled his girlfriend off of him, saying "Man can't even come into his own home without getting assaulted... What's this city coming to?"

"If you don't know the answer to that by now, Greggory," said Beth, "Then you're just as addle-brained as everyone says."

"Everyone huh?" He asked, "I ain't heard you call me that."

"Exactly, you ain't heard it... So, how were the double-shifts?"

"Not to great...I suppose you know about the four kids that were killed? Make it five."

"I'm gonna have to start locking every lock on that door..." Beth muttered, before saying in a normal volume, "You solve it yet?"

"No, not yet, but none of Grave Yard were awake enough to even try, and I think our guests were having a little trouble adjusting to working at night."

"Guests?"

"Yeah, couple CSIs from Miami came to help out. Wonder if they're enjoying Vegas."

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"Summer Alexandra Nicole!"

Summer heard her name being shouted, and trudged out of her room, into the kitchen, fairly sure of who was calling her. Her father came to get her, her mother just called for her. "Yeah, Mama?" she said, stopping in the kitchen doorway.

"I've been calling you for ten minutes," said Sara idly, "take your bugs to your room, please... You're as bad as your father, sometimes..."

"I heard that," said Grissom from the living room, "And I keep mine at the lab, thanks."

"Aw come on Mama, " Summer teased, "It's just a spider and a scorpion... Right Daddy?"

"Both of which are venomous," Sara reminded her, approaching her, and tucking her daughter's smoky brown curls behind her ear, "You can keep them here ONLY if they're in your room. I don't like them, and you know it."

"Yes Mama," Summer sighed. She went to the counter, where the glass containers that held the stars of her science paper sat, and took them. She went to the living room to say good night to Grissom. "Night, Daddy."

"good night, honey."

"Hey, can I go to the lab again tomorrow? Pllllleeeeeeasssse?"

"Does the word 'school' ring a bell?" Grissom asked, not looking up from his book. "Or how about the rule of no children allowed, unless on special circumstances?"

"Not for the rest of the week," Summer replied, "Teacher conferences or something, so I'm free... And I'd be good, I promise. You know I hate staying alone..." She did her best puppydog pout.

"Aw, Griss, look at that face," Sara laughed. "Ecklie knows better than to bother you anyway..." "Alright," Grissom sighed. Summer let out a squeal that sounded like thank you, hugged and kissed her father, and did the same to her mother, then went back to her room.  
-----------------------------

Warrick and Catherine had house guests. As they were the only ones with the room to spare, Horatio and Calleigh were staying with them. Easier than getting two separate hotel rooms that they wouldn't be spending much time in anyway. Calleigh took Lindsay's room, while Horatio would be staying in the guest room. Working all night had taken it's toll on Calleigh, as she was already sound asleep, and, as could be seen from the open door, sprawled out over the bed, still fully clothed. Catherine was already asleep as well. Warrick had drank too much coffee at the lab, and knew it would be a while before he wound down enough to sleep. Horatio just seemed to be too deep in thought to notice he was tired.

"What do you think of this case, mr. Brown?" he asked out of the blue.

"Warrick, please," Warrick corrected, "And I think whoever we're dealing with has serious mental issues."

"Alright then, Warrick," Horatio said, "I'm wondering what is so important about the eyes... Wether it's a message, or just something he does."

"You always this intent on a case? I don't want to sound like I don't care, but I generally try to forget a case for a while, when I'm off work. Give my mind a break."

"I'm afraid so. Even more, since about a year ago. My wife, Marisol, was murdered, not even a day after we were married. Still haven't caught the one who hired the shooter, so, I work extra hard on every other case I get, " he said it so clamly, "When victims, or the families of victims tell me I don't know what it's like to lose everything, I have to tell them that yes, as a matter of fact I do."

Warrick wasn't quite sure what to say. There had been only the barest amount of greif in the man's voice, as if he were holding the rest it. It reminded him greatly of Grissom, actually, though Grissom wouldn't have gone so far as to tell anyone. Finally, Warrick settled on, "Sorry about your wife... I understand working harder on every case. If something were to happen to Catherine, I, well, if I did catch the guy I'd probably be locked up for murder, but if I didn't, I'd make sure I got every other murderer I could."

"I wouldn't expect any less from any good husband," said Horatio, "But back to the case, I think there's a reason for it... For the eyes..."

Warrick had to agree with him.

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The next night, they were back to work, with another murder. Grissom, Horatio, and Catherine took this one. Meanwhile, Nick and Sara were pestering Hodges for results on the blood, and prints they'd found, while Greg went after Bobby, for the bullets, and Warrick and Calleigh went to pay a visit to Doc Robbins.

"What're we looking at, Doc?" Calleigh asked, when she saw the murdered girls, Valerie and Mylie.

"You're looking at very strange rape cases, Miss Duquesne," the coroner replied. "I was going to send rape kits to DNA, and I found splinters of wood, instead of semen. Bits off chipped off paint, too. And unluckily for these young ladies, they were raped before they were killed."

"How can anyone be that sick?" Warrick wondered aloud, shaking his head.

"You've been a CSI long enough to know the answer to that, Warrick," said the Doc. "But I thought I'd let you know that you won't be getting any DNA from the rapes. Also, I noticed an odd pattern in the bruising, on all four vics that I missed before..." He pointed towards the girls' arms, and legs, "It looks like they were beaten with something that was wide, and tapered. But what's strange is the voids," he pointed out voids in the bruising, shaped like a heart. "Whatever it was has a void in that shape in the center of it."

"Thanks Doc," both CSIs said, and turned to leave.

--------------------------------

"You know, all this pacing isn't going to make me get done any faster," Hodges complained.

"It would be done already, if you hadn't been to 'busy' to do it last night," Sara said. She was in no mood to deal with Hodges' rudeness.

"I was backed up from Dayshift," he whined. He started to add something else, but Nick raised a hand to stop him. He wisely shut his mouth. "I'm gonna go grab something to drink, Sara. If I'm lucky, you'll know what the results are on that DNA before I get back." He left the lab before Sara could reply, and headed for the break room. He went to grab a soda from the fridge, and happened to look towards the table. There was Summer, looking like her dog (or evil monster of a cat, more like) had just died.

"What's wrong Kiddo? Ain't you supposed to be doing schoolwork?"

"Finished it, I did it all last night, 'cause I couldn't sleep?"

"Nightmares?" When she shook her head, he raised a skeptical eyebrow. She gave in, and nodded, "Just don't tell my parents... I've had enough of the 'he can't hurt you now' talks, thanks... I just hate not being able to sleep without remembering those two days, and without hearing Ellie screaming, before you guys got there... It pisses me off, that even when the guy who did it is in prison, he still scares me... still gives me nightmares..."

Normally he might have chastised her for her language, but this time he let it slide, "They'll stop eventually, Kid... Even your aunt Susan wakes up sometimes, screamin'...Though I wonder if that's not from raising twins..." He heard Sara call him right then, and waved goodbye to the girl, and headed for the lab.

"DNA, and prints are unknown," said Hodges, "however, I can tell you your perp is female, and you've got your two easiest ways to eliminate suspects."

"whoah, hold on a minute," Sara said, "Did you say female? Okay... How did a woman rape those two girls?"

"Easy," said Calleigh, entering the lab, "According to your coroner, they were raped with a painted, wooden object. Left splinters, appearently. And the rape was before they died..."

Sara couldn't help but wince, hearing that.

"Okay..." said Nick, "so we know how, when, and where... now we need who, and why... I think it's time I went to talk to Valerie Sandon's sister."

"I'll go with you," Calleigh volunteered.

"Hey, Sara, " said Warrick, suddenly appearing next to Calleigh, "Want to come with me, to talk to the other vics' parents again?"

"Why not."

------------------------------

"Well, Greg," said Bobby, "your murder weapon was a nine milimeter handgun, which is about all I can tell you right now."

Greg sighed in disappointment, "That's what I figured... Thanks anyway, Bobby." He left ballistics, and headed for DNA, hoping to catch Sara or Nick. Unfortuntely, they were just leaving. "Okay... I'll go talk to Emily Brooks and her parents with Brass then," he muttered, and went to find the captain.

Brass, however, found him, "Hey, Greg, Gil back yet?"

"Not yet... Hey, I need you to come with me. No one's talked to Micheal's friend, Emily, or her parents yet."

"Why not, seems everyone else is leaving..."

----------------------------


	4. Queen of Hearts

Chappie four, for you enjoyment... PLEASE review... Please? I'll get on my knees and beg if I have too.

Chapter Four: Queen of Hearts

"You think I killed my own sister?" Kally Sandon was not happy to have the CSIs in her home, she was even less happy when they started asking her where she had been the nights the four kids had been killed. "Why would I kill the only family I have, that's not in prison?"

"People don't normally have a good reason for killing someone," Calleigh pointed out, and Nick nodded.

"You did some time, right?" Nick asked, "What for?"

"You already know the answer to that," said Kally, "But it was for beating the shit out of some kid."

"And what was you reason for that?" Calleigh inquired. Maybe the woman would prove their point for them.

"Because he tried to do the same thing to me on a daily basis," the young woman spat, "And I got fed up with it."

Calleigh didn't reply, she was looking at something propped against the wall. A two-foot long metal 'scepter' with a wide heart-shaped top, and a heart-shaped hole in the center. "Excuse me, but, what's that?" she pointed towards the thing. The other woman turned, "Oh, that's from a little club I work in, called Queen of Hearts. Every one of the girls has one, goes with the costume." 

"Uh huh," said Nick, "And could you tell us where this club is? And you still haven't told us your whereabouts from over the weekend."

"It's just off the strip... I don't pay attention to the actual adress, since I know where it is, but here's the card," she pulled a small card out of her back pocket, and handed it to him, "As for where I was, I was at the club... Weekends is what I work, since that's when Val was always off with her friends on weekends."

"Well, we'll see," said Calleigh.

"Look," Kally snapped, "All I want is for whoever killed my baby sister to die, okay. That kid was everything to me, got it?"

---------------------------

This crime scene was much like the others.

Body of a fourteen year old. This one another girl. It was the parents who had found her. Catherine was shaking her head, "We've got to catch this guy, before every green-eyed fourteen year old in the city is dead...And so I can hit him... Hard."

"I wouldn't suggest you go through with that threat, Cath," Grissom warned, as he knelt, and collected a hair from the girl's clothes. He noticed that there was blood under her fingernails, as well as a few bits of skin. The girl had fought back. He collected the skin, and took a sample of the blood. He didn't know what the results from the blood and prints were yet, but any evidence helped.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Catherine on this," said Horatio, kneeling on the other side of the body. 

"then I give the same advice to you, Mr Caine... Don't follow through with it... We've got people breathing down our necks as it is. One wrong move and we all lose our jobs."

"Thought you gave up on giving a damn about the labs integrity?" Catherine said, with some amusement, "Thought Sara whipped that out of you."

"She did, until we had Summer," Grissom replied, taking more hairs from the girl's clothes. This was Anna Hall. "I do want Sara and I to have a job, so we can send her to a good school."

"I knew there was a father in you somewhere, Grissom," said Catherine, as she snapped photos of a footprint. Horatio admired their ability to carry on a banter while examing a crime scene, and he could see that they had obviously been friends for a very long time. They had to pause in the collection of evidence, when the coroner came for the body, during which time, more conversation ensued.

"So how about you, Horatio? " Catherine said.

"Pardon?"

"Well, I'm married, and have a daughter. Grissom and Sara have Summer. Nicky's married, and has twins, and Brass had a daughter. How about you? Wife? Kids?"

"I was married... Marisol, my wife, was murdered that same day." There was that uncomfortable silence he knew all too well. The silence that meant someone was sorry they'd asked, or in Grissom's case, sorry he'd heard. TThey were all saved from saying anything by the coroner, David, who called the over, to tell them they could resume their work.

----------------------------

Emily Brooks, thirteen, and about as rude as any kid Brass had ever met... His own daughter excluded. 

"I dunno what what happened to Micheal, alright?" she sighed . Her friend had died, and she was all but refusing to talk, "One minute he was with me, while we were walking to my house, the next he was gone. Then later I found out what happened."

"Uh-huh, and where were you when Micheal disappeared?" Brass asked. Greg was handling the girl's parents.

"About two blocks from here, near the school. He stopped to look at something. I told him I wasn't going to wait for him, 'cause I had to be home soon. I figured he would catch up, like he always does. But when I turned around he was gone. "

"When was this?"

"When school let out... Around noon, I think. I figured I'd just gotten to far ahead of him, and he'd gone home..."

By the time he was done talking too her, Brass knew everything, except exactly where they'd been when Micheal went missing... Greg hadn't gotten much out of the parents, except that they hadn't liked their daughter's choice of a friend. 

"Any motive for murder from the girl?" Greg asked, as they left.

"She's thirteen, Greg, how would she have killed them? She may have been a rude little brat, but she was comepletely smitten with Micheal. I don't think she'd have killed him, much less the other kids. How about from the parents?"

"Well, they didn't like the one kid, but they claim they'd never heard of the other four."

"We'll just have to see what everyone else found out."

--------------------------

'Lunch' time was when the group was finally all together at once, discussing their findings.

"Other than the club," said Warrick, "It looks like we're SOL when it comes to evidence pointing to who it might be."

"You mean shit outta luck?" Summer chimed in. As the only place she was allowed in was in the breakroom, they couldn't send her out.

"Girl, you are cruisin' for a bruisin'," said Nick, casting a glance at Sara, who was muttering something about being grounded for a very long time, and Grissom, whom was trying to hide a smile. "Ya'll raised her," he said with a shrug.

"And it was Sara that gave her that colorful vocabulary," Grissom pointed out.

"You've made your contributions, Daddy," Summer cheerfully informed the group, "I could list a few things..."

This, and a stern look from Sara made Grissom interupt, "Couldn't we just-"

His daughter interupted, "end this destructive conflict and rule the galaxy as father and daughter?"

There was a breif bought of laughter before Warrick finally brought the group back to being serious, "Smart ass ten-year-old. You're to young to even know that line, Kid... " he shook his head, "Now, back to the club, someone needs to check it out..."

"Wait a minute," said Calleigh, "I just realized something... Those girls were raped with something wooden... Our coroner didn't find anything like that in the two girls we found..."

"Maybe the woman had help, " Summer said, drawing something, "Was there anything that suggested there was another person there?"

"You know what..." said Brass, "Didn't you guys say there were two sets of footprints at those scenes? How about you two, Horatio, Calleigh?"

"We may have," said Calleigh... "I'll go call Eric and see if he can check the photos." She got up from the table, and left the room.

"We'll make a CSI out of this brat yet," said Greg. He got a ball of paper thrown at him for his comments. "okay, so you're not a brat." 

Nick was going through the photos they had, "Yup, two sets of prints... One men's size ten, the other women's size eight... So we're looking for TWO people..."

"And one of those people happens to have a record," said a voice from the door way, this one Hodges, "Carlton Benson, thirty four, did time for assault in Miami a few years ago. The hair you found on Anna Hall was his, and the skin is still unidentified." 

Calleigh reentered the room, "Well, that confirms it, Eric says that there was definately two people at our crime scenes."

"Okay," said Grissom, "Someone needs to go check out that club, and someone needs to go see Mr. Benson. "

"I'll take the Club, with Warrick, and Sofia," said Catherine, "Unless anyone has any objections?" No one did.

"I'll bring in Mr. Benson, with Horatio, and Brass, so long as no one has any objections," said Nick. Again, no one did.

"Alright," said Grissom, "Sara, you and Calleigh can help me go through the vics' clothing again. Greg, you help Hodges run the unidentified DNA against every other sample we have."

"Geez, give us something hard to do, why don't ya," Greg muttered sarcastically, as he, and Hodges left.

-----------------------------

The Queen of Hearts was a small club, to say the least, and the strippers weren't the only ones dancing. Most of the customers were too. But Warrick, Catherine, and Sofia weren't interested in the festivities. They were more interested in finding whoever was running the place. It took them awhile, but they eventually succeeded. And surprise of surprises, it was a woman that they found.

"Personell only," she said, notlooking up from a job application she was reviewing.

"I think you can make an exception for Las Vegas PD," said Sofia. When the woman looked up she said, "I'm Sofia Curtis, from Vegas PD. And this is Catherine and Warrick Brown, from the Crime Lab."

"I think I may be able to take a break..." said the woman, sitting back in her chair, she kept her right hand resting over her left arm, "I'm Katrina Welker, current manager of The Queen Of Hearts. What can I do for you?"

"You can tell us if anyone who works here missed a few days. In particular, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and earlier tonight.," said Warrick.

"Anyone who stayed away that long without and explanation as to their whereabouts would be fired, Mr. Brown... And I haven't fired anyone for months, why are you asking, anyway?"

"Surely you've heard about the murders, Miss Welker?" Catherine asked, "There's been one every night since Friday."

"I assure you, Mrs. Brown, I know," she stopped suddenly, and put her fingers to her lower lip. They came away bloody, "Shit... Fucking lip..." she grabbed a kleenex from the box on her desk and pressed it to her lip.

"Get into a fight, Miss Welker?" Sofia asked, somewhat smugly.

"No. Someone swung a door into my face," said Katrina, "Happened a few nights ago. Been splitting open since."

Warrick noticed something on the wall behind her desk, "Excuse me, but have you had anything stolen in the past couple of weeks?"

"Not in this club..." said Katrina, moving the tissue from her lip, "But the secondary one had a break in...

"What secondary one?" Catherine asked, also noting what Warrick had. The rack holding several of the metal heart-topped staves.

"The one the owner built in Miami, when he moved back there..." said the woman, "It's been there for several years now... Why?"

"The victims' brusing pattern shows a remarkable similiarity to your littlle heart scepters... The same in Miami. Would you mind if we borrowed one?"

"Go ahead..." said Katrina, "We've got more than we need." She got up, and grabbed one of them

"Warrick, I need your help... I'm going to find out where all the women were on the nights of the murders," said Sofia, "Catherine, can you take that back to the lab?" she pointed to the object Katrina was holding out.

"Sure thing. See you guys at work... Oh, and one more think, Miss Welker, where were you on those nights?"

"Here of course... Like I am every night..."

------------------------------

Going through the clothes wasn't a difficult thing, really. Just time consuming. Especially since they had to go through each and every square inch of the fabrics.

Valerie Sandon: blue jeans, that were now torn. The pockets were full of gum wrappers and slips of paper, most were notes from school, others had phone numbers scribbled on them. Her shirt was a simple t-shirt, black, to absorb heat in the cold weather, no pockets, no blood, on the outside anyway. Her undergarments were gone. They hadn't been on her when she'd been found, and they hadn't been at the crime scene. Someone had redressed her the quick and easy way. The hairs they were finding all seemed to belong to the vic. They couldn't be sure of the blood, but it was likely the girl's as well. Not coat, either, so the perp had taken that, too. Nothing amazing here...

Toby Evans: black jeans, pockets empty. Baggy black t-shirt to match the jeans, with the phrase "I don't have a license to kill... I have a learner's permit" written on the front. No pockets on this one, either. No blood on his clothes at all. Unlike Valerie, he hadn't been redressed. There'd never been a need to remove his in the first place... All the perp had to do was beat him. Again, no coat. There were a few gray and brown hairs on the shirt. Short, and easy to miss. They'd have to have those compared to the short hairs they'd found on Anna, and the longer ones they'd found on the other vics.

Before they could get started on the third set of clothing, Sara's phone rang. She answered is, as Calleigh and Grissom continued to go through clothes. When Sara hung up the phone, "Can you guys finish without me? Catherine says she's got something that could quite possibly be a duplicate of what was used to beat these kids... Guess I get to go beat something up."

As she walked by him, Grissom said, "Time to kick some poor dummy's ass then, huh?"

Sara smirked, "Yeah, guess so. If I get done in time, I'll be back to help out, but for now, I'll send Greg in here." she leaned forward a bit, kissed him, and then headed for the door, saying over her shoulder, "Later Calleigh."

-----------------------------

Yay for randomw Star Wars references, huh:P I couldn't resist that one.


	5. Beatings and Headaches

Chap 5.. PLEASE PLEASE review

Chapter Five: Beatings and Headaches

Carlton Benson wasn't happy about being brought to the lab. He was even less happy, when Nick, Horatio, and Brass asked him how his hair, had gotten on a crime scene. He, of course, denied having ever seen the victims, though he didn't have an alibi for the nights the children were murdered.

"Nine kids, Mr. Benson, five here in Vegas." Nick was losing his temper, "And your hair on the most recent body, and your bootprints on all the scenes. Either you killed them, or you were there when they were killed, which is it?"

"Look, I wasn't there, okay?"

"That' s not what the evidence is saying, Mr. Benson," said Horatio, calmly, "The evidence is telling us thatyou were. Why did you come here, from Miami, last week?"

"I came with my girlfriend," said Benson, "She wanted to be manager of club here, for her boss."

"What club," Nick asked.

"I dunno, something to do with hearts or something."

"And what is this girl's name?" Horatio wanted to know.

"Katrina Welker."

--------------------------

Sara was preceding to beat the crap out of a dummy, with the heart staff that Catherine had brought her. With a light dust of chalk on it, she was able to tell what kind of patterns it would leave on a body. So far, it was looking like a match to the bruise patterns on the vics. She already had all she needed, really, but she wanted to get rid of some of her frustration. Like Grissom, she hated cases that involved kids. It was even worse that another could be killed at any time. So, she beat away on the dummy, and it was helping at least. She realized that she still didn't have photos to prove her findings, so she had no choice but to take a break for a momentto do so.

She didn't bother to start beating the dummy again. She was too worn out. Instead, she took the camera, intent on uploading the photos, and comparing them to the autopsy photos, to see if the patterns matched. She was interupted by Horatio.

"Sara, have you seen Catherine, Sofia, or Warrick anywhere?"

"Um, Sofia's checking the alibis of all the girls from that club, Warrick is in the break room, with a headache, and Catherine is... Right behind you."

Horatio turned, and saw that indeed, Catherine was right behind him. "Looking for me?" Cath asked, with a smile. She looked at Sara, "Have fun beating the shit out of the dummy?"

Sara nodded, as Horatio said, "Yes actually. Does the name Katrina Welker ring any bells?"

"That's the club manager for Queen of Hearts... How did you know her name?"

"Mr. Benson claims that Miss Welker is his girlfriend, whom recently moved here from Miami."

"Well, if I believed in coincidences," said Sara, "I'd say that was a big one."

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Sara, she touched that," Catherine pointed at the object in Sara's hands, "See if you can lift prints off of it...Run them against the ones off that oil bottle... I'm going to talk to Katrina again." 

"Who're you taking with you?" Sara asked.

"Who's free?"

"Not sure, but I would really suggest that you don't ask Warrick. He was complaining to me about a killer headache earlier, when he stopped by with my camera."

"Right... Well, Horatio, You up for a trip with me and Brass?"

"Why not." said Horatio with a nod. 

---------------------------------------------

After she parted from Horatio, and Catherine, Sara printed the staff, then sent her findings to be compared to the ones from the oil bottle, then she went to work on the photos. She noticed something odd, in one of the autopsy photos. A slight bit of green on one of the vics arms. She waved to Grissom, as he and Calleigh were going by, carrying the bags of clothes. They came here way when they saw her.

"Yes, Dear?" said Grissom.

"What's this on this kid's arm?"

"Already checked it out, it was a bad spot in the photo. Nothing on the body."

Sara didn't know wether to be annoyed at him, for seemingly knowing everything, or pleased that it turned out to be nothing. "Have I told you lately how much I hate it when you know the answer to everything?"

"Your fault, not mine," he said. Calleigh laughed, as she and Grissom turned to leave.

"Don't forget," said Calleigh over her shoulder, "You've got a mini-him to raise."

"Don't remind me, please." Sara retorted, and went back to the photos, though the wore a smile. All it took was a small banter, or funny conversation with anyone in the lab to allow her a smile. That was something that Grissom was responsible for. He'd finally given in, and her life had been a whole lot better for the past twelve years. So had his, she was sure. Her pregnancy with Summer had been a rocky part, as both were nervous about what was going to happen. But, they'd waited it out, and things had gotten back to normal eventually... Well maybe they hadn't. Since normal for the both of them had been to go home after work, and enjoy the days alone, then go back to work, and act as if nothing was going on. Harder to do when you had a baby girl, that both worried about. _Okay, so in another eight, maybe nine years, Things will be back to normal... _Sara thought, as she confirmed that the pattern was exactly the same, _Summer goes off to college, and Griss and I get to enjoy the peace._

She smiled at that thought. Once Summer was out of the house, Sara knew she would miss her. Summer may have been closer to her father than she was anyone else, but it didn't mean she loved her mother any less, nor that Sara loved her any less. Funny how it worked out really. Grissom was the one who had been less than overjoyed while Sara had been pregnant, yet now you would have never guessed it. _Two peas in a pod _ She thought, picking up all the photos, _She got an equal amount of looks from both of us, but interest-wise, and even personality -wise, sometimes, she's just like Grissom. Maybe the next one will be more like me. _ She exited the lab with a smirk, wondering what Grissom would say to that idea. Not that he had much say in it, anyway.

----------------------------------------

Warrick swallowed several asprins and sat at the break room table, head resting on his arms.

"You okay, Uncle Warrick?" and inquisitive voice asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Kiddo," he practically groaned, "Just a headache."

"Had any caffine tonight?"

"No, why? Been taking painkillers."

"Try some coffee, or a soda. If painkillers don't work, try straight up caffine."

"I know I shouldn't ask, but how'd you know that?"

"I'm ten. I cause plenty of headaches, so I get to see how to get rid of them." Warrick looked up at the girl, whom was wearing an innocent grin.

"You're too smart for your own good, you know that?"

"Mama says it every day," she replied solemly, "Daddy just says I'm too much like him. Though he does add that if I ever become a CSI, it'll be a dark day for the lab...Something about no sleep, like mama, and hyped up on coffee... I think he's sure that I won't change a bit... "

Warrick allowed himself a laugh, then shooed her away. No more talking for him. He was going to enjoy some peace and qu-

"Warrick!"

Ready to hurt someone, Warrick looked up to see Nick. "What?"

"You seen Sara anywhere?"

"Last I saw she was beating some dummy into the ground."

Nick didn't even say thanks. He just rushed off to find Sara. Warrick half expected someone else to come disturb him, but thankfully, he was left in peace. He drifted off into his own little world of thoughts and memories. The headache was starting to go away now, so maybe the painkillers had finally kicked-... Nevermind, it wasn't getting better. He was just going to sleep. He forced himself awake, and got to his feet, to fetch himself a cup of coffee. Maybe the kid had been right. She appearently knew what he was thinking, from the way Summer was smirking, when he looked at her. He ignored the look that so clearly demanded a response, and sat back down, and drank the whole steaming cup at once. His tongue and throat hated him for it, but at least it gave him the wake-up call that he needed.

Tongue and throat still burning, he went to see what was going on with the case. After all, he'd been out of the loop for an hour. Alot could happen in an hour.

---------------------------

"Why are you here again, Mrs. Brown?" Katrina Welker sighed, boredly.

"Your boyfriend, Carlton Benson," Catherine replied, not an ounce of accusation in her voice, but the way she moved said every thing. 

Horatio was keeping silent. This was Catherine and Jim's town. They knew how to handle people here. But then, wasn't this woman from Miami? Maybe he'd speak his mind should the opprotunity arise. For now he would stay silent. He just watched the exchange. While Catherine's voice was friendly, her eyes however, were narrowed, and cold. It was obvious that she didn't trust this woman. Not that he could blame her. This woman had recently moved to Vegas, and the time fit the time of their murders, and the woman obviously had something to hide. She was keeping her hand over her left arm. He saw her dab a tissue to her lower lip, that came away bloody. She tossed the balled up tissue towards the trash can, and missed. He waited until Catherine had finished questioning Katrina, then intentionally knocked Catherine's keys out of her hand, making them land close to where the tissue had. Catherine gave him an odd look, and he flicked his eyes towards her keys. She looked, and saw why he'd caused the problem.

She knelt, and Horatio spoke to Katrina, to distract her. The tissue was in plain sight, so they didn't need a warrant, but it would be best that Katrina didn't know what they were up to. "Excuse me, Miss Welker, " He said, making sure her eyes were drawn to him, "But when exactly did you move here?"

"A week ago, I guess... I'm still working on unpacking things..."

"And you worked in the Queen of Hearts in Miami as well, to, right?"

"Yes," she replied curtly.

By then, Catherine was standing up again, "We really need to be going... Thank you for your time, Miss Welker."

The three visitors left the club manager alone, and got on their way to the lab. "Nice move back there, by the way," said Catherine, to Horatio, "Very sneaky."

"Little too obvious, if you ask me," Brass chimed in with a chuckle, "But I don't think she actually caught on."

"Hallelujah for unobservant people," Horatio replied.

----------------------

Since the girl who normally did fingerprint matches was out sick that day, Sara found herself saddled with making print comparisons as well. She had lost track of the fact that she was singing at some point, and was getting louder. That was what led Nick right to her. She was bent over a table, comparing fingerprints, and singing the Three Doors Down song "Here Without You".

"Sara? You know, you're singing again."

She snapped up, and looked at him, "Oh, Hey Nick. Sorry. I got a match on this print though... Catherine's Club Manager's prints match the ones on that bottle of ours."

That was when the explosion began.

---------------------


	6. Evidence Lost and Discussing the Case

Chapter Six: Evidence Lost

Deja Vu. Grissom was getting a strong sense of it right then. This had happened before, an explosion in the lab. He wasn't sure yet if everyone was okay, he was still looking for Sara. He'd been in the break room, scolding Summer for taking his tarantula again when it had happened. The girl was fine at least, she was currently being crushed against Grissom's chest, as he had no plans of letting her go, unless someone came and pried her out of his arms. Not that Summer was complaining. She was stuck to her father like a leech. The explosion had shaken her up quite a bit.

Grissom heard Sara calling him, and turned. There she was, shoving some paramedic away, whom was trying to tend a cut on her forehead. She outran the medic and managed to get to Summer, and Grissom without hinderance. There was no prying needed to take the girl from Grissom, as she allowed herself to be passed over, and Grissom offered no resistance. He was to relieved to see that Sara was, for the most part, unharmed.

Someone else hadn't been so lucky. Ecklie. He was being taken away on a gurney. Other than Ecklie, Hodges and Wendy seemed to have gotten the worst of it. Nick, and Greg, like Sara had only sustained a few cuts, were asking them what had happened. 

"Ecklie was in the lab, shouting at Hodges, for not doing something or other," said Wendy, "I interupted, and told Ecklie that we had alot of work to do for Nightshift, and that he shouldn't even be here..."

"I was leaving, to find Grissom, " said Hodges, "When I heard glass shattering... Ecklie had hit something.. One of the chemicals on the table, and I guess it hit the gunpowder that came in from another case. It had something other than gunpowder in it... But after that, Well, you get the picture.."

"Nicky!" "Greg!"

Both Nick and Greg turned around. There was Nick's wife, and Greg's girl. Both were looking exetremely worried. Neither man got much chance to say they were fine before they were being sqeezed so tightly that they couldn't breathe. Greg even started to turn blue. Who knew a scrawny girl lik Beth could be that strong.

Warrick was worried to, as was Calleigh. Brass, Horatio, and Catherine weren't here. "Grissom, Sara," said Calleigh, to the pair, "Have ya'll seen Horatio around here?"

"Or Catherine?" Warrick added.

"They weren't here," said Sara, "They went to talk to that club manager again."

Both Calleigh, and Warrick sighed in relief. "She okay?" Calleigh inquired, nodding her head at Summer, whom was now hanging on to her mother for dear life.

"I think so," said Grissom, "You wouldn't think it, normally, but she gets shaken up easily, ever since-" He was interupted by Summer squeaking, "I'm fine, I just got scared."

Curious, Calleigh asked, "Ever since?"

Warrick was the one who answered, "About two years ago, some psycho kidnapped Nick's wife, Susan, Greg's girlfriend, Beth, Brass' daughter, Ellie, mine and Cath's daughter, Lindsay, and Summer... We found them, two days later. We got there in time for everyone but Ellie."

"Oh..." Calleigh looked as though she was sorry she'd asked. She perked up when she saw Catherine's black SUV show up, and out clambered Catherine, Horatio, and Brass.

"What in the holy hell happened here?" Catherine asked, looking at all the people, crowded outside the building. 

"Ecklie hit something, and it blew up some gunpowder that was being tested," Greg, walking over, arm-in-arm with Beth.

"Is everyone alright?"

"Except for Ecklie, yeah... He just got shipped off to the hospital. "

"How much of the evidence did we lose?" Horatio asked.

"Well, I think the blast was mostly in the DNA and Trace lab, so we shouldn't have lost much... the only thing that was in DNA and Trace were the hair samples, and that oil bottle," Sara paused, trying to remember if there was anything else, "and I got a match for the print on the bottle... It was the same as the one on the heart staff..."

"If we've still got the skin, from the last vic," said Brass," Then we can see if DNA confirms it."

"Depending on the damage," said Grissom. "Let's get out of here for now... We're not going to work here until morning at least."

"Whose place are we working at then?" Nick asked, approaching with Susan.

"How about ours?" Sara suggested, looking at Grissom, who shrugged.

"See ya'll there, then," said Calleigh, as she and Horatio followed Catherine and Warrick. 

-----------------------

Summer sat next to the kitchen doorway, listening to the adults. She hadn't quite worked up the courage to join them yet, as she still wasn't quite sure what to make of the newcomers, Horatio and Calleigh. Calleigh seemed nice enough, if hyper. Horatio was quiet, and kept to himself for the most part. Though she wasn't normally a shy girl, the explosion earlier, had shaken her up, and she was still trying to process what exactly had happened. One moment, her father was in the door way saying "What's black, has eight legs, and isn't in my office?" The next, there was a loud bang, and glass shattering. She hadn 't been hurt, nor had Grissom, but it had still come close to making her heart leap out of her throat.

The shock was most of the reason she'd clung to her parents afterward, after she's calmed down, she'd squirmed out of her mother's grasp. Right then, she was supposed to be in bed. Another reason she hadn't gone into the living room yet. She got to her feet, and trudged into the room, deciding to make her presence known. She snuck up behind her parents, silently pleading with Greg, who had spotted her, not to say anything. He kept his mouth shut, thankfully. She climbed over the back of the couch, and squeezed herself between Grissom and Sara. Both looked at her caught off guard, but they didn't say anything. They went back to their conversation with their co-workers. 

"Okay," said Brass, "here's what we got: We have a print that places Katrina Welker on the scenes, as well as hair, and boot prints that place her boyfriend there too. Also have unidentified DNA, which is likely Katrina's, but we can't prove that till Ecklie's mistake is fixed. the prints should be enough for a warrant though, but, we can't get one until tomorrow."

"So, what do we do tonight?" Calleigh asked, as Nick got up, and went to the kitchen.

"We know the hows, and possbily the whos," said Greg," So why not work on the whys?"

"Hey," said Nick from the kitchen, "Ya'll done misplaced your coffee."

"Top cupboard, on the left, bottom shelf," said Sara.

"Thanks," Nick yelled, "Hey, anyone else want some?"

The reply of "yes" was heard from all of them. Calleigh and Horatio in particular. They were still working on dealing with working nights.

"Okay," said Grissom, "We'll work on the whys. It's obvious that our perps have some serious issues... Possibly something to do with their past, that has made them do this?"

"Well, Katrina seemed perfectly sane, when we spoke with her," said Catherine, "But then so do alot of perps..."

"But they also act guilty," said Horatio, "I watched her, when you questioned her about where she was... When she did look away, it was to the right, which indicates remembering... So either she's a damn good liar, or she really believes what she told you."

"Even the part about getting that busted lip from running into a door?" Brass asked skeptically.

Nick rejoined them, "Coffee's ready, if any of ya'll need something to wake you up."

The group disassembled for a moment, to get their caffine, then regathered in the living room once more. "What if the woman isn't our perp?" Warrick asked, "I mean, isn't it possible that the print on that bottle was coincidental?"

"It's possible," said Nick.

"But highly unlikely," Greg finished. 

A loud "Ow!" kept any further conversation from ensueing. Summer's cat, Grasshopper, had latched himself onto Calleigh's leg, and was procceeding to bite her fingers, any time she tried to pry him off. "Summer," Sara sighed, "Get your cat away from everyone, please." Giggling, Summer got up, to do as she was told. The silver tabby happily let go of his victim when his mistress grabbed him.

Rubbing her leg, Calleigh said, "Cat like that, ya'll don't need a guard dog."

"Don't bring him over here!" said Grissom, to Summer, when she started to take the cat back to her spot on the couch., as Sara said, "We know... The little monster tears everyone but her apart..." She paused and looked at her daughter, "You need to get to bed. Now."

"W-W-Why?" Summer said, failing to stifle a yawn.

"Probably because it's six am," said Greg. Summer trudged off , and he said, "so back to the whys... The beatings, the sexual abuse... Maybe it's something that was done to our pair?"

"Well, what's up with the gunshot wounds, and the eyes?"Warrick asked.

"I guess we'll just have to find out all we can on her," said Grissom, "If the lab hadn'tblown up in our faces thanks to Ecklie, I'd have had the info on her we needed. As it is, Katrina Welker isn't her real name... It's Allyce Barnes."

The continued to discuss the case, the explosion, and their suspect for a while more, until they had exhausted the topic. They eventually moved on to more mundane things, until it got around to their personal relationships. Sara and Grissom were up first it seemed, since Calleigh just couldn't resist asking,

"So how have ya'll been together for how many years? And haven't been fired yet? Cath and Warrick, too."

"Well, Ecklie's the only one who would rag on any of us for it," said Warrick.

"Let's just say we and Ecklie have come to an...Understanding.." said Sara, with a mischevious grin, remembering you the shouting match Grissom'd had with the greasy little man. Ecklie hadn't said a word about their relationship since, and when Warrick and Catherine had married, he had given them a few mean looks, but scathing ones from everyone on Graveyard had shut him up.

"Pull that trick in Miami, and you're likely to have the FBI swoop down on you," Horatio commented.

Calleigh snorted in sarcastic agreement, "Sure are. I think any time anyone in Miami starts to act human, they set off the alarms."

"Reminds me of the old Grissom," said Greg, with a smirk, earning himself a look that could have peeled paint from Grissom. "What?" Greg asked, with a shrug, "You know it's true... Not a day went by when you weren't telling people not to get emotionally involved in cases.." 

Nick raised a hand to stop him, "Enough, Greg. We all know Sara's whipped our boss into shape." Even Nick got a mean look. A shriek interupted what Nick was going to add. Then came rapid thuds, as the cat came tearing through the hall, kitchen, and finally, the living room. Sara sighed, shook her head at the cat, and stood. "My turn for nightmare duty," she said, as she headed for her daughter's room. She returned a few minutes later, "Yup, nightmares...Wish there was some way to stop them, and don't you say time, Catherine..." she added, as Cath opened her mouth to speak. Catherine closed her mouth with a shrug.

It was only a few minutes later that everyone deemed it was time to go home, take a shower, and get back to work. Sara excused herself in the middle of the "see you in a few"s , to hurry off towards the bathroom, earning herself odd looks from her friends, and a suspicious one from Grissom.

-------------------------------

"Did we get a warrant?" Sofia was asking Nick, he, she, Catherine, and Horatio, headed for the exit of the building.

"Yup," said Nick, "All we gotta do is go search our perps house. We find anything incrimnating, well, more than what we've got already, and we can arrest her. Of course, we already have enough to get her boyfriend. Anyone know if Eckilie's dead yet?" he added sarcastically.

"Nick!" Catherine exclaimed, giving him a light punch on the arm, "And no. No word on how he is, though if he was seriously hurt, it'd be all over the lab, you know that."

"You never know," said Sofia, as they piled into Catherine's suburban, "Only happened a few hours ago... What did happen, anyway?"

"Ecklie got pissed, and knocked something over. It met with gunpowder, and went boom," Nick replied, beating Catherine to the driver's seat, and snatching her keys out of her hands.

"So we have our wonderful boss to thank that we no longer have a trace lab, right?" Sofia inquired, laughing as Catherine tried to grab her car keys from Nick, and failing.

"I would hope," Horatio said, after having remained silent, "That this sort of thing doesn't happen very often."

"Pretty much," Cath replied to Sofia, giving up on reclaiming her keys, and getting in the passenger side. To Horatio she said, "And no, labs explodinh doesn't happen often... Happened once before, but it was my fault. Anyway, Grissom's talking to the boyfriend, and I've got a couple officers meeting us at Katrina's club... Then we're going to her place. "

"Let's hope that Mr. Benson doesn't get violent again, then," said Horatio, "I saw him hit an officer when he was being taken to his cell."

"Well," Sofia commented, "If he does get violent, he'll not only have Sara descending on him, but every officer there, that witnessed him using that kid as a punching bag"

"Meh, I don't think Sara would risk it," said Catherine, thoughtfully, "One wrong punch..."

Giving her a puzzled look, Sofia asked, "since when does Sara Sidle not "want to risk" a fight?"

"You didn't see her earlier," said Nick, "ran fast as greased lightnin' for the bathroom, looking green around the gills. Grissom mentioned her doin' that the other day, too."

Sofia laughed, catching on, "Oh dear. I almost feel sorry for them."

"Me too," said Catherine, "But, let them learn from their mistakes... Oh and Nicky, turn left up here."

"I know what road to turn on, woman. So unless you've got a backseat driver's license, let me drive," Nick retorted, making everyone laugh, even Horatio. 

"Then why were you going past it?" Catherine asked wryly. She suddenly started digging through her purse, "And as a matter of fact, I do have a backseat driver's license. Warrick made it for me, after one to many driving tips. I think it was Lindsay's idea though. Ah! Here we go!"


	7. Seek and Find

Okay, this got posted with chapter 6 on accident, sorry about that...

Anyway, here's the last chap on it's own.

Chapter Seven: Seek and Find

Everyone was seeking something that morning it seemed, for Warrick was searching for Greg, to tell him he had a vistor out front, Greg in turn was looking for Grissom, to ask if he could get his days off changed. Grissom was looking for Sara, and Brass, to ask Sara about her breif sick episode earlier, but was having trouble, as they weren't in the shooting range, where they had last been. And Calleigh was looking for Horatio, unaware that he had gone with Nick and Catherine. Who she found was Greg.

"Hey, Greg, have you seen Horatio anywhere?"

"Um, he went with Catherine and Nick, I think, to search our perp's house."

"Oh... Okay, thanks. Oh! By the way, Warrick's looking for you."

"Yeah, I heard that... You know where Grissom is?"

"He's looking for Sara, and Brass, as far as I know."

The two parted ways. Calleigh, to go get something to drink, and Greg, to find Warrick.

------------------------------

Katrina was certainly a good actress, Horatio had to give her that. In fact, the act she was giving them about having no clue what they were talking about was almost believeable. It would have been comepletely believeable, if he hadn't known she did it. When they arrived at her home, she continued to insist that she had no idea what was going on. And Horatio was beginning to have his doubts that she did know... When Nick, Catherine and Sofia began their search, he was sure she was mentally unstable. She was pacing back and forth in her living room, talking to someone that wasn't there. Now, he had his fair share of that, having once been a Catholic, but this was different. She acted as if there was really someone in the room with her, other than the offcer, and Horatio himself, and the various boxes that were still unpacked.

She panicked, when Catherine and Sofia discovered a nine millimeter beretta hidden under her mattress, and an old broken broomstick, that had traces of blood, and other biological fluids on it. She began babbling incessantly about her mother, and how it was all her mother's fault, and that her mother had done it all. After the group had been able to gather that much, the words coming from her mouth stopped making any sense what so ever. By the time they got back to the crime lab, she was still going on like that, and everyone was beginning to wonder if the woman was really that unstable.

She had calmed down, once she was put in an interrogation room, and Horatio and Grissom came to speak with her. The first words out of her mouth were of course, denying her guilt.

"I had nothing to do with those kids..."

"The evidence says otherwise, Katrina," said Grissom, "Or do you prefer Allyce?"

She snapped to attention upon hearing her name, "What did you call me?"

"He called you Allyce," said Horatio, " That is your real name, isn't it?"

"No one has called me that since... since..." she didn't seem to remember when.

"Since your parents died?" Grissom prodded.

"You need to get your stories straight, Mister," she said, "My father and brother are dead... My mother is very much alive," she added "unfortunately," under her breath.

"Allyce," said Horatio, "Your whole family is dead..."

The woman didn't seem to have heard past her name, "Don't call me that. No one ever calls me that except _her. _"

"Who?" Horatio asked.

"Her... My mother..."

Getting an idea, Grissom asked, "Where is your mother now?"

Katrina/Allyce didn't look up, but he could see her eyes darting around, "she's in here..."

----------------------------

The rest of the crew was on the other side of the glass, wondering just what the hell was going on.

"I don't get it," said Catherine, "I talked to her at that club, and she was perfectly sane... Or she seemed that way. Think this could be an act?"

"It could be, Honey," said Warrick, "But, crazy people don't always seem crazy at first... And this isn't really giving off that 'act' vibe..."

"Well, insane or not," said Calleigh, "She killed those kids. Ballistics, and DNA confirmed it, remember?"

Everyone nodded. They had. The bullets from the kids were all a match to her gun, and the blood and hairs found at the scene were a match to her. Not to mention the fact that she had come from Miami with her b oyfriend in the time fame needed to fit the murders. The question that everyone wanted to ask was "why?" Why would she do that to those kids? They weren't going to get their answer just then... This woman still had to be gotten through to. She was refusing a lawyer, now, every time Grissom or Horatio offered, so they went back to the question of "where's your mother?" They were getting the same answer over and over again "she's in here."

-----------------------------

Fed up with the answer they were getting, Horatio switched questions, "Why did you kill those kids?"

"I didn't!" Katrina/Allyce nearly shouted.

"Then why did we find the murder weapon in your home, your prints and DNA at the scenes, then?"

"I don't know! It had to've been her!" she looked at some of the photos that had been thrown on the table in frustration, "It's just like what she used to do, anyway..."

"Allyce," said Grissom, gently, though it was with all his self-control that he kept from yelling at her, "what happened?"

The woman turned away from him, looking lost in thought, before she answered, "My mother abused me, my twin brother, and even my father, until I was fourteen..."

------------------------------

Katrina Welker, AKA Allyce Barnes was never a happy child. Always picked on in school, given snide remarks from teachers, a poor household, and an abusive mother. Her brother, Cameron, had it just as bad, if not worse, in school. Teachers pegged him for a trouble maker, because their favorites beat him up, then claimed he started it. But both children would have rather taken the teasing, and fights at school rather than stay home. They even went so far as to avoid going home, for as long as they could in the afternoons, and when they finally got the courage to go home, they would sneak in through their bedroom window, in hopes that their mother wouldn't know they had arrived. Some days she did, others she didn't. The days she did were the worst of the children's lives.

She would call them to the living room,and their torture would begin. Jason always thought he got off lucky, compared to his sister. He just got beaten, and, sometimes, when his mother wanted to hear him scream, like Allyce did, she would put some of her eucalyptus and peppermint massage oil in his eyes. Allyce on the other hand, got the beating, the oil, and sometimes, her mother would take the old broken wood broomhandle, strip her, and rape her. Their father would do nothing about the cruel things his wife would do to them. He was to scared himself.

Things went on that way until the twins were fourteen, and their father finally did something about the abuse. He took his gun, and shot his wife, once in the chest, and did the same to his son. Then turned the gun on himself. Allyce came home to find her family dead, though the only one she really cared about was Jason.

The police wouldn't believe her when she told them what her mother had done. They said there was no way a mother could abuse her children that way. Allyce's claims of rape were scoffed at even more, until finally, she gave up on trying to tell them. She was shuffled from foster home to foster home for about a year, until finally one family adopted her, changing her last name to Welker. As soon as she was old enough, she had changed her first name to Katrina, after the daughter the Welker family had lost, shortly before taking her in.

And, she had gone on to become sucessful in the nightclub business.

-----------------------------

"But my mother wasn't dead..." Allyce spat, "she came back, a few months ago, in Miami... And then those murders occured, so I sped up the moving process, to get here to Vegas. But she still followed me, and then those kids here died..." she put a hand to her busted lip, "she hit me, when I told her to leave."

Staring at her in disbelief, Horatio and Grissom said nothing. They knew for a fact that her mother was dead... Horatio had called one of his CSIs to look up the death certificate, and autopsy photos for him, to confirm that everyone in her family was dead.

"I hate her," said Allyce, suddenly, "She made my dad do that... She drove him too it. And he killed Jason... didn't even have the decency to close his eyes, before he blew his own brains out. i found Jason with his eyes wide open you know... "

Unable to help himself, Horatio asked, "What color were his eyes?"

"Green..." she replied, "Bright green."

-------------------------------

Once out of the interrogation room, Grissom and Horatio discussed her behavoir with the others.

"I say she's either pulling our chains," said Sara, looking as if she would have rather not heard the woman's story, "Or she really has no idea what she did."

"Could be split personality?" Greg suggested, hoping someone would say something encouraging about his theory.

"It's possible," said Calleigh, with a quick smile at Greg. _ He looks alot like Ryan... _She thought, _Hm. I miss that kid... Have to call him when we're done here... Maybe accept that date he offered before I left._

"Are they normally aware of a seperate personality though?" Warrick asked.

Grissom shrugged, "Not always, but it's possible. That may be what's going on here."

"Or," said Horatio,"she isn't schiztophrenic, and she's just imagining that her mother is following her, and she's pinning the murders on her... imaginary friend, if you will. "

"Either way," said Nick, "Are we sure it's her that did it?"

Everyone nodded. "Along with the help of her boyfriend," said Brass, approaching them. "He just confessed."

"Let's have them arrested then," Warrick, "Where they'll do time can be worked out later, yeah?"

No one objected to this. After Katrina/Allyce had been told she was going to be arrested for nine counts of murder, the group drifted apart. Grissom noticed that one person wasn't leaving. Sara, of course. She was staring through the glass at the other woman, looking almost sorry for her. As if she sensed Grissom's eyes on her, she said, "How does anyone do that to their own child? How can you beat, and rape your own daughter?" she paused a moment, "I guess after all these years I should be used to this kind of thing by now, huh?"

"The day you get used to it, Sara," said Grissom, embracing her from behind, "Is the day it's time to quit. "

"Yeah, I know. It just makes me sick, to think that those kids would still be alive, if it wasn't for one abusive mother..." she sighed, then laughed a little at herself, "I feel like pulling a Catherine, and just going home right now to tell Summer how much I love her." She smirked at the gentle kick to the ankle she got from Grissom, "I would rush home to tell you how much I love you, too, but you're right here." She shrugged out of his embrace, and together they started down the hall to catch up to the others. Sara looked back towards the interogation room once, thinking about the woman who sat in there, being cuffed by an officer right then, confused, and upset. She felt another pang of pity, as she faced forward again. To lighten the mood, she suddenly stood on her toes a bit, and whispered in Grissom's ear, "How's a little sibling for Summer sound to you?" _Not that it matters how it sounds. Too late for thinking about it. _

------------------------------------

Epilogue: Goodbye to new friends

In celebration of catching their killers, Sara's announcement, and as a way to say goodbye to Calleigh and Horatio, Nick and Susan had planned a nice dinner at their apartment, which everyone attended. It gave them some time to get their minds off that case, as it still disturbed them all.

Both Nick, and Susan were superb cooks, which showed in the way that there certainly wasn't going to be any leftovers. Of course, there were some who couldn't have cared less about the food. The children, to be more specific. Jaina and Ryne were having far too much fun with Summer to care about eating, and Summer in turn was having to much fun practicing her skills as an older sibling, and proudly proclaiming that she was going to have a baby brother or sister soon. The fun and games lasted for several hours, until Horatio reminded Calleigh that they did have a plane to catch, and, after her phone call to Ryan, she had a date to make.

Their good byes were said, and on Calleigh's behalf a hug or two was shared, and they left, with Warrick and Catherine, driving them to the airport.

It was a relief to be leaving, actually, Horatio thought, anyway. He liked the crew here, but he missed his team, and he knew Calleigh did too. Who knew? Maybe another case would allow the Miami lab, and the Vegas lab to work together again, and maybe not. Only time would tell. For now, the main concern was making that plane on time, and getting home. That was another thing he was missing. Moisture. How people survived in that desert, he didn't know.

END.   
------------------------

As always, I have a preview of an upcoming Story

"Better Left Alone"

Some things are better left alone. That's what people said. Maybe this was one of those things? Maybe I should just let Grissom be. After all, he was partially out of his shell... Maybe with time he would come all the way out. But then, where did that leave me? If I was afraid of making him retreat now, wouldn't I still be later on? Who could tell?


End file.
